Education 


TREASURY DEPARTMENT 
UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 
HUGH S. CUMMING, SURGEON GENERAL 


CORRESPONDENCE 
AND READING COURSES IN 
PUBLIC HEALTH 


REPRINT No. 948 
FROM THE 
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS 
AUGUST 22, 1924 
(Pages 2140-2146) 


WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1924 


CORRESPONDENCE AND READING COURSES IN PUBLIC 
HEALTH.! 


For more than 12 months the Public Health Service has been col-_ 
lecting from the executive officers of State departments of health and 


from the universities with which ‘‘ Class A”? medical schools are 
affiliated, data regarding correspondence and reading courses in 


public health. Reports received to June 1, 1924, indicate that courses. 


have been conducted during the past two years by seven State de- 
partments of health and by six universities. 

Of the courses given by departments of health, five are for sani- 
tarians—those conducted in Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, New Mexico, 
and Pennsylvania. In addition, the Virginia State Health Depart- 
ment offers a correspondence course for teachers; in both Virginia 
and Minnesota a course is given in the hygiene of maternity and in- 
fancy for mothers; and a second course is offered in Pennsylvania, 
one for persons connected with industries, schools, and with civie 
and religious organizations. 

In no case is tuition charged for the courses conducted by State 
departments of health. Mimeographed or printed lessons are dis- 
tributed in several instances, and in two cases textbooks are used. 
Those taking the course are required to answer questions by mail 
from time to time, in four or five instances in connection with each 
lesson. The number enrolled varies a great deal, as will be seen in the 
reports of the various courses; so also does the length of the course. 

The correspondence courses offered by universities are in five in- 
stances conducted by the extension division of the university and in 
one case by the department of hygiene. One university conducts 
only one course; two conduct two courses; two, four courses; and 
one conducts seven courses. Most courses appear to be offered pri- 
marily for those who are now or intend to be engaged in public-health 
work, although a few courses apparently are for laymen. In all cases 
tuition is charged, textbooks are used, and examinations are given. 
Academic credit is granted for all courses, except in one university 
where credit is given when the student is enrolled in the school of 
education but not when he is enrolled in the school of medicine. 
The length of courses varies from 20 to 40 lessons. While the courses 
offered by universities may have a more dignified status than those 
offered by State departments of health, the number of students en- 
rolled, as will be seen, is not so large. 


1 Reprint from the Public Health Reports, vol. 39, No. 34, Aug. 22, 1924, pp. 2140-2146. 
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CORRESPONDENCE COURSES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 3 


COURSES CONDUCTED BY STATE DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH. 


The Ohio State Department of Health (Columbus) has prepared 

a course, with the assistance of the International Health Board, for 
persons employed in public-health work on a full-time or part-time 
basis, not including, however, nurses. The work requires one year, 
but no definite time is set for completing it. Groups are organized 
~+from time to time, the first having begun work January 3, 1922 
= The months of July, August, and September are utilized for field 


J studies under guidance of the staff of the State department of health. 
~The text selected is MacNutt’s Manual for Health Officers, in addi- 
—tion to which the students supply themselves with 15 other specified 
= books. No fees are required, except a small charge to cover the cost 
* of a certificate when the course is completed. Questions are sent out 


from time to time, and those who complete a satisfactory amount of 
work are eligible to credit for attendance at a health institute held at 
the time of the annual meeting of health commissioners in the fall. 
Since the work began 14 groups of 5 to 40 each have been organized, 
and of the 158 who have enrolled 34 have satisfactorily finished the 
course. At the time of this report, June, 1924, the course was still 
being conducted with apparent satisfaction to all concerned. 

Dr. Emery R. Hayhurst is in charge. 

The Kansas State Board of Health (Topeka), which also need 
assistance from the International Health Board, established in Jan- 
uary, 1923, a correspondence course for Catan (mostly part- 
time county health officers). Forty mimeographed lectures are 
mailed to each student, usually at intervals of a week. The course 
covers almost all phases of public-health work conducted by a city or 
county department of health. No textbooks are used and no tuition 
is charged. An examination is given at the close of the course. Of 
the 105 who enrolled in the course in 1923, the entire number com- 
pleted it. The course was repeated in 1924; in June, 13 were en- 
rolled. Milton O. Nyberg, secretary of the board, is in charge of the 
course. 

The division of public health nursing of the Kansas State Board of 
Health, with the cooperation of the State traveling libraries commis- 
sion, has established a library service for public-health nurses em- 
ployed throughout the State. The reading, however, does not 
appear to be systematically directed, so that it can hardly be classi- 
fied as a reading course. 

The Illinois State Department of Health (Springfield) inaugurated 
late in 1922 a correspondence course for the 20 district health super- 
intendents who were at that time employed. The plan provided for 
the distribution of 12 monthly lessons. The first three or four lJes- 
sons were prepared and placed in the hands of the district health 


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A CORRESPONDENCE COURSES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 


superintendents. By July 1, however, the appropriations of the 
health department had been severely curtailed, and the number of 
district superintendents was decreased from 20 to 7 or 8. It became 
necessary, therefore, to abandon the enterprise. No one completed 
the course, but it is still hoped by the director of the Illinois Depart- 
ment of Public Health, Dr. Isaac D. Rawlings, that conditions will 
change and permit the rejuvenation of this correspondence course. 

The bureau of public health of the Department of Public Welfare 
of New Mexico (Santa Fe) organized for city and county health 
officers a correspondence course in 1920, consisting of 40 lessons given 
at weekly intervals. Mimeographed material was furnished for each 
lesson. Questions also were provided, but the answering of them 
was not compulsory. The course was taken by 50 persons. The 
director of public health, Dr. G. S. Luckett, feels that the course was 
satisfactory. Through the course two men were led to take up 
public-health work on a full-time basis. Furthermore, improve- 
ment was observed in the work of local health officers taking the 
course. The work has not been conducted in a systematic way since 
1920, but the lessons utilized that year have been brought together 
by Luckett and Gray and published as a textbook in public health 
administration. 1 

The Virginia State Board of Health (Richmond) operates two cor- 
respondence courses, one for teachers and one for mothers. All 
teachers are required by the State school law to have certain rudi- 
mentary knowledge of sanitation and hygiene and to be prepared to 
conduct simple physical inspections of school children. These quali- 
fications will be required of every person who becomes or remains a 
teacher in Virginia after September 1, 1925. In order to help teach- 
ers meet these requirements, the State board of health established in 
1920 a correspondence course in physical inspection and school 
hygiene which consists of 12 lessons and a final examination. A full 
year is allowed for its completion. Printed lessons are used, together 
with textbooks. About 1,200 teachers have completed the course, 
and in June, 1924, over 1,800 others were engaged in it. Mary 1. 
Bell is in charge. An official of the State department of health 
writes: 

Of those who completed the course nearly all testify that, in addition to the 
knowledge gained, the course is most valuable in arousing a personal interest in 
the health of each of their pupils and in the importance of health in general. 

In addition to the final examination, questions are asked at the 
close of each printed lesson. They are stimulating, as will be 
observed from the following: 

Give a brief account of the facts you teach your pupils about the character- 


istics of bacteria. 
Have your pupils been examined for hookworm disease? 


te, 


CORRESPONDENCE COURSES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 5 


How many have been vaccinated? 

How does vaccination prevent smallpox? 

Has the drinking water used in your school been examined by the State board 
of health? 

The second course conducted by the Virginia State Board of 
Health, the one for mothers, consists of 12 lessons. It deals with 
prenatal care, birth, and the care of the mother and of the infant 
after birth. Before the course was started it was reviewed and 
approved by leading obstetricians and pediatricians. To date 
about 500 persons have taken or are taking the course. 

The Minnesota State Board of Health (St. Paul), through its 
division of child hygiene, conducts a correspondence course in the 
hygiene of maternity and infancy. It is open to mothers and other 
women. No tuition is charged. Fifteen printed lessons are dis- 
tributed by mail. At the close of each lesson is a series of ques- 
tions to be answered by mail. On June 1, 1924, 16 months after 
the course had been started, over 3,500 women had registered for 
it and about 60 per cent of these had completed it. Many of the 
women send in their lessons very irregularly, sometimes taking from 
six to eight months to complete the course. Ruth EK. Boynton is 
in charge. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (Harrisburg), through its 
division of public health education, has conducted two courses which 
it designated as correspondence courses. One course was for all 
persons connected officially or semioflicially with the State depart- 
ment of health, as well as for nurses, teachers, and other interested 
persons. A series of mimeographed lessons was sent out at regular 
intervals and written answers were required. ‘The course was in- 
augurated in 1920 and was conducted for two years and a half. 
About 3,000 different persons enrolled in the course, about 90 per 
cent of whom appear to have completed it. 

The other course consisted of a series of 24 mimeographed lessons 
sent out through various newspapers twice a month; in addition, a 
large quantity of lessons was distributed from the State capital. 
For the second year the lessons were issued in printed form. They 
were sent to schools, industries, and to civic and religious organiza- 
tions. The course consisted of 12 lessons. Provision was made for 
written reports on each lesson. On August 28, 1923, there had been 
an enrollment of 1,200,000 persons from whom the State depart- 
ment of health had received reports. William C. Miller was in 
charge of both courses. 


COURSES CONDUCTED BY UNIVERSITIES. 


The University of Chicago maintains a large home-study depart- 
ment. Seven courses are given in the department of hygiene and 


6 CORRESPONDENCE COURSES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 


bacteriology. One of these is a course of high-school grade for which 
only ‘‘admission credit is given.” The others are courses of college 
gerade for which credit toward a bachelor’s degree is granted when 
they are satisfactorily completed and passed by examination. These 
include courses in the following: Bacteriological methods, public 
hygiene, and in four important fields of applied bacteriology. The 
matriculation fee is $10; the tuition fee for each of five 40-lesson 
courses is $19, and for one 20-lesson course on public hygiene $9.50. 
These courses were inaugurated in 1899. Two hundred and ninety 
persons have registered for one or more of them, and 124 have 
finished. A letter from the department of hygiene and bacteriology 
states: 

The number of students taking correspondence work in the department of 
hygiene and bacteriology is very small, but I understand that most of them are 
actually engaged in some form of public health work, being probably mainly in 
laboratory positions. 

Dr. H. F. Mallory is the secretary of the home-study department. 

The University of Missouri (Columbia) offers through its extension 
division one course in preventive medicine. The student must meet 
the regular university requirements, be 21 years old, and properly 
qualified for the work. Credit is given for this course by the school 
of education but not by the medical school. The announcement 
states that correspondence work is as thorough as that done in actual 
attendance. ‘The course may be begun at any time. It consists of 
34 lessons. The cost is $8. This course in preventive medicine was 
established in 1914-15. One hundred and seventy-six persons have 
enrolled in it, of whom 157 have completed the course. Further 
information may be obtained from Dr. Guy L. Noyes, the dean of 
the medical school. 

The University of Wisconsin (Madison) at present offers through 
its extension division approximately four courses—two for mothers 
and women generally, one for nurses, and one for health officers. 
Four courses, three of them on maternity and infancy, appear to 
have been abandoned. However, there have been about 450 persons 
who, during the last six years, have enrolled in a course on ‘‘ The 
prevention of disease and home care of the sick,” and 60 per cent of 
them have completed the course. Thereare eight assignments in this 
course; the tuition is $4 and the textbook costs $2. A course entitled 
‘Local health officers’ work” also is given, for which a fee of $4 is 
charged. A university official writes that sanitarians who have taken 
the course have expressed satisfaction and are known to have been 
greatly benefited. The course in public-health nursing consists of 12 
assignments. The fee for it is $5. It also has given satisfaction. 

The University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) announces, through its 
general extension division, courses in the following subjects: School 


CORRESPONDENCE COURSES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. 7 


hygiene, sewerage, water works, and illuminating engineering. Ap- 
parently this work has not been systematically promoted. The 
secretary of the extension division writes: 

We have probably three or four students a year who take the course in school 
hygiene. There are fewer in sewerage and water works. 

The extension division also offers for the women’s clubs of Arkansas 
a number of courses, most of them outside the field of public health. 
One of these, however, is a course in child hygiene. It consists of 12 
programs. A fee of only $2.50 is charged for an entire club. Appar- 
ently the child-hygiene course has not been as popular as some of the 
other courses. Evangeline Pratt is the secretary of the general 
extension division. 

The University of Kansas (Lawrence) announces through its cor- 
respondence study bureau a noncredit course in home health and home 
nursing ‘‘ which is taken by many women over the State.”’ Attempts 
to obtain detailed information regarding this course have not been 
successful. 

The University of Tennessee (Knoxville), through its department 
of hygiene, offered in January, 1923, a correspondence course in per- 
sonal and community hygiene. A second course which was to have 
been a continuation of this course was also planned, but since no 
students were enrolled in the first course the plan appears to have 
been dropped. 

New York University (New York City) conducts, through the 
University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, a course for health 
officers and another for nurses. While the former is primarily for 
employees of health agencies, anyone qualified can enroll init. One 
week of residence is required before completion of the course, which 
must be within one year of the time of enrollment. The work is 
divided into 10 subjects, each of which is to be completed and fol- 
lowed by an examination before the next subject is commenced. A 
fee of $25 is charged, in addition to a matriculation fee of $5 for those 
who have not previously attended the university. The necessary 
books may be borrowed from the university on the payment of a fee 
of $15, $10 of which will be refunded if the books are returned in 
good condition. A certificate is awarded upon completion of the 
course, which requires 300 hours of reading and six days of residence. 
Arrangements may be made, however, to complete the work during a 
period of 25 days’ residence. During recent years the following num- 
ber of persons have received the certificate: 


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8 CORRESPONDENCE COURSES IN PUBLIC HEALTH, 


The correspondence course for public-health nurses was begun in 
October, 1922. In the first class 250 nurses enrolled, of whom ‘150 
conscientiously continued the work.’’ The second class began in 
October, 1923. There were 154 enrolled. The entire number were 
stillin the classin June, 1924. The course consists of about 25 lessons 
and may be completed within one year. Assignments are made from 
textbooks and current literature. Upon the completion of each 
lesson the student is required to submit an original paper. Drs. 
William H. Park and Edward H. Marsh are in charge of both courses. 


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